Bitcoin “Can Help Revitalize Iran’s Economy”

An American political analyst has said the Bitcoin payment network can help the Islamic Republic of Iran develop both its domestic and foreign economy, adding that the system could “create many jobs” across the country.

“I can see the possibility over the next few years of a few hundred million or maybe a few billion dollars worth of Bitcoins and Altcoins coming into the Iranian economy. This in itself could have many positive effects for businesses and could help create many jobs throughout the country,” John Ubele said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.

Following is the full text of the interview.

Tasnim: What is Bitcoin?

Ubele: Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital currency which can also be used as a payment system. It is a decentralized system which means its accounting system/ledger also known as a blockchain is kept on thousands of computers around the world. This decentralized blockchain system helps keep Bitcoin transactions transparent and accessible to anyone who wants to access the system to look up and verify any transaction.

Tasnim: How widely is Bitcoin used?

Ubele: There are tens of thousands of businesses in different countries around the world which accept Bitcoin as payment for their goods or services. There are also many different online and brick and mortar exchanges which offer different types of fiat currency and digital currency pairings.

Tasnim: In which country is Bitcoin most popular?

Ubele: At this point in time the bulk of the world’s Bitcoin trading is done in China, but trading of Bitcoin has expanded greatly in India and Japan. A good deal of Bitcoin trading is also done in Europe.

Tasnim: Can countries use Bitcoin instead of the US dollar in international transactions?

Ubele: Yes, it is possible. Bitcoin’s market capitalization is currently about $20,000,000,000. If countries began doing large transactions, say in the hundreds of millions of dollars then this would greatly increase the demand for Bitcoins which would push its price higher. Right now the price of an individual Bitcoin is about $1,150. You can find historical price charts for Bitcoin on coinmarketcap.com.